Saturday, January 15, 2011

Snowplows and Salt Spreaders (NYC) January 2011

Nothing heavy in the post. It's sort-of a wrap up on the snow-fall that took out 2010 and ushered in 2011 (and the mess that Bloomy made. of the snow-clearance)

First some pictures and short videos clips  that were left-over from January 1, 2011; the tail-end of the 20 inches of the bizzard "clean-up"...

New Years Day, 2011. I was out for a stroll in mid-town and happened to observe the first snow-plow with SALT that I'd seen since the snow began falling on the 26th of December. I had seen a few sanitation truck/snow plows, but no salt-spreaders so this was a 'wow' moment (I thought).

Then I noticed the ridges of snow that were filling the center of the street, not clearing it (pushed by the plow from the curb into the street) Curious, I started following the plow...following it's ridges actually about. And now the cars seemed to be moving a bit slower while they weaved around those ridges.

Guess one-snow can't do what teams of snow-plows do, clear the streets with one plow following after another. Maybe one snow-plow is it better than no-plow? Maybe...but watching it make a mess of the street and the intersections.... I'm NOT so sure..... 





Then, after the whopping 9"inch snow-fall two weeks later, there was a very DIFFERENT reaction from Bloomy and his team. But, snow 'clearance' .... I thought it a bit odd, throwing the snow into the street rather than clearing it.

January 13,  2011, the first snow-fall of 2011.  I went for a walk in Times Square to see what's up. We were still dealing with the snow and garbage that hadn't been picked up from New Years. But,when it came to this snow-fall and snow-clearance.... Bloomberg's minions were going to be seen this time, everywhere, even if there was nothing for them to do.
Found a truck filled with salt and a snow-plow digger just sitting. Guess there wasn't much for them to do once the GLOBS of salt had been spread all over the pavement.  I don't think I've ever seen that much salt spread that thick after a light snow-fall.

Not much action in Times Square, so I walked over to Port Authority. Noticed a large team of sanitation crewmen clearing a bus stop. Okay. Makes sense. But, this seemed as odd as the snow-plow ridges I had observed two weeks before. These guys were shoveling the snow from the curb into the street, weaving around the traffic. Kind-of felt like someone was sweeping dust under the rug.

Am I missing something? Or is the Mad-hatter of Bloomberg losing it?



Hope that's it for snow-reports for quite a while. I am "moving on".

...

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Leftists Protest March Against Israel & U.S -NYC (January 2011)video/pics

Went to an Anti-Israel/Anti-U.S. protest in Manhattan on January 9, 2011. A Sunday. It was a very  cold but VERY sunny day. Actually it was a very pretty day with the sun bouncing off everything.

DSCN6665 copy


Bright and cold, and as always, deeply disturbing.

DSCN6579


One of the first things I saw was this truck drive by their protest.

 DSCN6570 copy

DSCN6572 copy

DSCN6573 copy


 That was it. Never saw him again. The rest of the time at Herald Square it was all their familiar signs  and  hateful speeches; their agitprop. And it got me thinking about how tiresome this has become.

DSCN6598 copy


With hate so much in the news lately, I wondered, has the press ever stood for hours and listened to these hate-mongers lie about Israel and the U.S.? over and over?


DSCN6595 copy

Hateful rhetoric clothed in smirks and creepy smiles meant to incite and recruit more radicals like themselves. And they do. In our colleges in particular.

DSCN6629 copy


Baffling to me that  there should be so many groups that hate the U.S and Israel while living in free and safe in this country. Yet they yearn to live in a totalitarian hell-hole and drag the rest of us with  them.

 DSCN6713 copy


Their list of groups that support terrorism and sedition. That promote HATE.

End the Seige of Gaza march was sponsored by: Al-Awda NY -The Palestine Right to Return Coalition, US Palestinian Community Network-NY, International Action Center, Hunter Students for Justice in Palestine, American Muslims for Palestine-NJ, American Muslims for Palestine-NY, Existence is Resistance, Palestinian Club – Brooklyn College, Columbia U. Students for Justice in Palestine, FiRE-Gabriela USA, Siege Busters Working Group, United National Antiwar Committee-NY, Fellowship of Reconciliation, Nodutdol for Korean Community Development, BAYAN USA, New York City Labor Against the War, International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network, Labor for Palestine, International Socialist Organization, Socialist Action, ANSWER-NY, WESPAC




 So many familiar faces near the end of 2008, like these Castro/Chavez loving Code Pinkos. It was another  Gaza March.

DSCN8387

And this young girl (in 2008). Is she still smiling in 2011? Has she ever lived in Gaza under the murderous Hamas? Or Iran? Or Pakistan.

DSCN8492

The police escort in 2008. Always a police escort for these marches.

DSCN8526

Not much has changed in 2011.

 DSCN6742 copy

And the radicals, blocking the sidewalks, going outside the barriers; and the police having to accept their disregard for protocol.... As in 2008....

DSCN8540

 And in 2011. They are all over the sidewalk instead of in their enclosure....

P1060389 copy

 While our side obeys and stays within the confines of their "pen"...

 DSCN6769 copy

EXCEPT for these guys. Wish we had LOTS more of this confidence to go 'outside the box".
These guys were great!

DSCN6787 copy


DSCN6792 copy


Yet, the same band of anarchists,with a heavy police escort, were spilling out of their enclosures and blocking the sidewalks again on January 9, 2011.

In the video below (Part 1) you can see how they walked slowly...very slowly ... to the Israeli consulate. They didn't have as large a crowd as usual. They only filled the block from  34th to 33rd street about half-way. But, they are very skilled at stretching themselves out so they seem to be a larger group. They drag their march out as the cross town as long as they can....



It's frustrating to see our counter-rally groups given tighter restrictions. We get positioned blocks away from the rally we've come to protest;  hidden behind bus shelters and buildings, seemingly at the request of the radicals' green-hatted security. I've witnessed the police cow-towing to that security as they've pushed our people to an out of sight/out of mind location.

And the police did it again on January 9th, Changed the location that was planned. That was to be visible. Now, even those who came to join-up with the our supporters couldn't the counter-rally, they were so far away from 34th and 6th Ave. they couldn't be seen.

Except for this guy, I wouldn't have know they were at Herald Square:

 DSCN6640 copy

DSCN6670 copy



But, at 42nd street it was great to finally see this small put hearty bunch that had come  in support of Israel standing so visibly on the S/E corner.

P1060374 copy

P1060373 copy

and they even this:

DSCN6795 copy

At one point I heard one of the officers suggest they were going to move the pro-Israeli contingent further away. Again? Blocks away. Not sure what happened. But, I don't think they were moved.

Part 2 (video) is at the Israeli Consulate, January 9, 2011.  I was (again) harassed and bumped around by the radicals (in front of the police)




Have our police been told to be hands-off  with the 'palis' and the Marxists. Something's not right. 
Even though I've been documenting the assaults & harassment of photographers, I continue to be  disappointed by how the police ignore the blatant harassment that borders on assault.


As my report in 2009 reveals when a NY post photographer and I were assaulted and pushed around in full few of the police . Videos are posted here>>

 DSCN1222

 Why an assault on a photographer from a major paper? They told him. We don't want (need) your pictures. And they are just as brazen in 2011.

Like this 'fearless bully of a 'leader'  pictured below. He is so NOT afraid of the police (As you can see in the video above - In Part 2 at the Consulate) He can always be counted on to do something that infringes on free-speech, and he did.

At this rally, he decided to do a sort-of "soft body-slam as he "herded" me around the street . All in front of the cops, who 'look away' and tell you they didn't see anything.Very obnoxious behavior.

 DSCN6618 copy

There is also the cigarette /coffee chugging *itch who loves to scream at me like she's got " friends in high-places. " She DEMANDS I be removed from a public-street. She insists that I cannot take pictures of their rally. She did this in 2009 as you can see in the videos posted here>>

UPDATE: Our cig/coffee harasser has a name: Lamis Deek.
http://www.stopislamophobia.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Lamis-Deek.jpg
She’s a lawyer in Brooklyn.  Born is Nablus and raised in NYC.

Continuing: On January 3, 2009,  this same woman brought traffic to a halt at 42nd  and Broadway by screaming at the police that they had to stop movement of the protest march; in the middle of the intersection (with the ubiquitous cigarette and coffee always in hand) And amazingly, the police stopped and blocked the intersection for 10 minutes or so. (this is documented in the video below)



True to form, she was at it again in 2011 (See recent video, Part 2, from January 9, 2011 rally)
She pushed me around (with a cop in between us) but for a change, I wasn't removed.

The assault - 'team' is fleshed out by this 'cutie' who managed to do her block-the-camera dance at the Waldorf in 2010

 

And again this Sunday, in 2011, at Herold Square. (see Video above  - Part 1) She blocks me with her body and her camera yet the officer seemed more annoyed with me than with her.

However, the fellow (who is pictured above in 2009 at the Marriott-Marquis assault above) wasn't so interested in me this passed Sunday. Perhaps he's been promoted (or demoted) cause now he's one of their many, MANY photographers.

 DSCN6781 copy

The only person missing was Bill Doares (who also loves to attack photographers) You can see him in action in many of our videos. But, he was in rare form attacking the NY Post Photographer

Some observations post-rally.

  I attended a presentation by J Street this evening (January 11) The two-man discussion was to be about an  Israeli-"Palestinian" Peace-Deal. BUT, it wound-up being short  one of the speakers. Attalah bailed because of the predicted snowfall (coward).


Daniel Levy was quite enough for one tedious evening.  He's is a Brit, about 30 years of age, and  is MOST impressed with how smart he is. Levy gave us lots of " U.S. is bad. America is bad." And the U.S.  with its controlling agenda is the problem. The U. S. created an Israel that has been indulged and caused the OCCUPATION. A word we heard as much as the U.S. is to blame.

So, 90 minutes later it was clear,  the U.S. caused the problems between Israel and the "Palis" by indulging Israel. I'm rather glad I didn't have to sit through two of them supporting each other with this example of their radical anti-Israel AGENDA. Levy complimented J-Street and said it was up to them to End the Occupation.  As though only they could fix it.

DSCN6693 copy


 It was all made even more obvious, who J-Street is and what they intend, when an orange-suited Gitmo "prisoner" rose out of the audience (with a pin that that said Habeas Corpus).

How can we hope to win the media-war with organizations like J street and friends marching and preaching against Israel and the U.S. with their lies and propaganda.

Perhaps it's our turn to do a major march across town.  The Fifth Column marches on and so should we! Would J-Street join us? With police  escort and signs and flags in support of Israel held high. Wonder if Bloomberg and Company would let us have a permit.  Isn't it about time that we demanded the same rights?

And if not a march, how about this. Here's some suggestions posted by a Boris B. for our next counter-demo. He posted a  practical breakdown in several tiers:

"Tier 1: Greeting people in the subway platform. There will be people with
large yellow signs with bold black lettering reading: "Caution: Hate-Speech
Ahead"

Tier 1.5: Also in Subway will be people handing out various informational
packets, especially next to EVERY PRO-PALI nut-job, handing out their stuff.


Tier 2: Basic pamphlet distribution on the streets. Key areas are anywhere
they're going to be giving out info, just stand right next to them, or right
across street. Point is to make sure each passerby gets two pamphlets, so
they'll look at them both and proceed to trash em', but the point is they
won't read theirs.

Tier 3: Dozen(s) (but not more) people decked out in Israeli gear just
walking around, and being genuinely nice. These people WILL NOT get into
heated debates about core issues.

Tier 4: MAIN GROUP OF EDUCATED PEOPLE. Will be in plain clothes, and blend
in as much as possible. These people will walk around and engage people in
conversations like "Do you believe these guys?, etc" Slowly throw in facts
about the situation, details, etc. Key is not to overwhelm, but utilize the
fact that they'll be screaming and yelling, while we'll be actually talking
to people and influencing their opinions."

I leave you with my final video . A compilation of pictures from the rally and the counter-rally.




It's time for a New Game. New Rules.  A New Year!

DSCN6786 copy

Monday, January 3, 2011

Its' a Mad Mad World (NY Style) video

 I love New york. It's January 2, 2011.

The snow appears to be gone with just trash to deal with. (Not really. )There's plenty of filthy snow that hasn't melted and concrete blocks the police use for crowd control and some smattering of the confetti from New Years Eve to remind us still of the blizzard that end 2010.

I love to walk around Times Square. Love the colors and the unexpected, like one chunk of ice just hanging in the middle of the cross-walk at 8th ave and 42nd St. For about 10 minutes it held its own...til it got tipped by one car and smashed by a taxi.

Moving on to Broadway and 46th and the tourists. There's plenty to entertain them. The Naked Cowboy and the the big video screen that seems to captivate everyone as they giggle and point, "Look, there I am". That's Bloomy's idea of Times Square. Close it down( Times Square) and watch the tourists wait to see a picture of themselves on a big screen.

The tourists love it, even though the locals, bus and taxi drivers remember a different Times Square that really was New York.

Whatever...2011 is here. And in New York there will be no shortage of surprises.



...

Sunday, January 2, 2011

The NYC Blizzard & Contradictions Union Style (video)

7:00 PM. New Year's Eve 2010.

The city goes in to lock-down for the mass of tourists who will stand for HOURS in Times Square waiting for the clock to strike midnight.

The locals stay away.

Manhole covers are sealed, trash-cans are removed and that's NOT because of the tourists (sarc intended). 

Watch the New Year's Eve celebrants slowly, patiently and happily walk to whatever pen the police would place them so they can see the Big Ball-Drop at midnight.

Meanwhile, what about the Sanitation Union-Thugs and their slow-down snow removal? They lied and people died.

Contradictions?

I found flyers from the  ubiquitous "Why Islam"& Scientology Dianetics in the gutter and a Prayer Station offering Free Hot Chocolate along with equally ubiquitous "Gentlemens' Club" (offering not so free entertainment up the block.)  Sadly, by the morning of January 2,. a woman jumped to her death just a few doors from where the Prayer Station had been.

Contradictions...

 

...
Update on the Jumper A couple of hours after the jumper, I was only able to get some street-talk regarding a jumper. I was told at that point  it was a woman who had died. It appears there was only one jumper, a 26 years old man, who was saved by those mounds of uncollected garbage (one building west of the hotel) Good to know he survived, but what remains correct is that "Unions lied and People died!"
..

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Dec 31, 2010: After the Blizzard: Life Goes on in the City (video)

It was the last day on 2010. Looking back, the week started as usual for me. I love new-fallen snow. I can't resist walking in it and taking pictures. However, when I came upon the the 3 cars stuck in the snow at 45th and 9th avenue, I knew something was up. The streets shouldn't have been impassable. It had been snowing all day but the norm is many passes of the snow-plows. 

Thus began my week and the saga of the missing snow-plows as well as that BUS. Links to those reports are here>>

Can only speak for mid-town Manhattan, but basically, " Life goes on."  Felt good to see people getting out and about...

Traffic is back on the side streets...bikes, push carts, the deliveries... and New Yorkers are  creative as always. They manage to find ways to traverse the piles of slushy snow. Boots are a must, you'd think, but there's always the pretty girl with the pretty boots or the very high heels...guess pretty matters more for some (of a certain age)  than durability.  And they manage...

However, the pools of slush were a bit more challenging  for those with assisted walking.  Many bus stops and intersections remained uncleared by the cleaning crews. Yet, these people were out doing the same, trying to get on with their routines.

Also, people are starting to dig-out their cars. The  street cleaners are going to sweep through on Monday so the owners of the cars must dig out their cars.

Guessing the reason garbage is untouched (except by private haulers) is because the CITY garbage trucks are also the snow-plows. 

Another observation, where are the trucks with the salt? There are mountains of salt (and sand) at a pier on the West Side Highway.  

So now, it,s the last day of 2010. The snow is melting. Should be in the 50's tomorrow. Will Bloomberg and Company claim to have done  a stellar job? Just because the snow will have melted? (Probably) 

Of course, this remains a botched snow-clearance. No way out of it, but it was nice to see people out and about and doing what New Yorkers do: Getting on with their lives. 





Hope you all had an enjoyable New Year's Eve. It's now 2011.  It will be as awesome a year as we can make it so Let's do it!




>>